How to Make an Ornament Wreath

This stunning Christmas Ornament Wreath is easier to make than it looks! Here are all the tips and tricks you need to create your own, in whatever colors you’d like!

By popular demand, here is my ornament wreath tutorial! I know there’s plenty of ornament wreath tutorials floating around Pinterest and the internet.

I mean, how hard can it be?! Its just glueing a bunch of balls on a wreath, right?!

Well, kind of.

I’ve been teaching holiday wreath classes at my house this Christmas, and so I’ve made a few ornament wreaths (and Poinsettia Wreaths!) and I’ve helped my friends make a few as well.

I picked up a few tips and tricks to ensure a beautiful ornament wreath, because that’s what I do! I take wreaths that I see online that are beautiful and look totally intimidating, and I figure it out, and simplify it.

Basically, I’m here to break it down so that you can do it yourself and create a perfect result!

About the Ornaments you need

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You definitely need shatterproof (plastic) ornaments. Each wreath takes about 80-100 ornaments in a variety of sizes, from the mini-tree size up to the average baseball size. I’d probably get a 50 count box of the average size, and then a few 10ct in the smaller sizes.

I’ve made a few different color combos, its so fun to put them together. My very first wreath (made with a slightly different technique) is super colorful. I love funky and glittery Christmas decor! The one at the top of the post is one I made for my mom using gold, rose gold, silver and white.

My contribution to the ornament wreath tutorial world (yes, its a thing. haha) is FILLER! I grabbed a bag of these beauties from Michaels and they are awesome for the finishing touch and filling in any awkward gaps.

“Filler” is vase or bowl filler, basically just little glittery balls about the size of a gumball. It’s not a deal-breaker if you can’t find them, just try and get some of the smallest ornaments you can find.

How to Make an Ornament Wreath

Supplies needed:

12″-14″ Willow wreath form (find them at Dollar Tree, or foam will work too)
Tinsel garland
80+ ornaments in varying sizes, from mini to average (big pack from Amazon here)Filler
Hot glue gun (and more sticks than you think you’ll need!)
String

Instructions

1. Start by wrapping your wreath with the tinsel garland. This is an optional step, you won’t reeeeeally see the tinsel, but it does provide a nice background for the ornaments, in case you can see through to the base.

2. While you’re wrapping, you may want to add in a string loop for hanging. This wreath is kinda bulky, so it might be easier to have a loop instead of using a wreath hanger.

3. Start glueing the inner part of the wreath. I used slightly smaller ornaments here to help things fit better, a little smaller than a tennis ball. I think I ended up using 13 ornaments on this step.

Attach them with the tops down and tilted in towards the wreath, so that your get more surface area for the glue to grab.

Use kind of a triangular glob of glue, and hold it securely in place for a minute til the glue cools and hardens.

You can also add a tiny dot of glue where each ornament touches each other to help secure them. Things will feel kinda wobbly at first, but as you glue on more ornaments, it’ll tighten up and stay securely.

*Don’t stress out trying to create a pattern or create perfect randomness. When you’ve got a few colors, and a then glittery, satin and shiny of each color, its impossible to be perfectly random. Some glittery ones will touch other glittery ones. Some golds will touch other gold, etc. There are so many layers of sizes and colors, you can add in or break up any colors later on.

4. Next, glue ornaments around the outside perimeter. I used my largest size here, but varied it up a bit to keep it looking kinda random. Again, tilt the tops in toward the bottom back of the willow wreath, to help it attach securely. I used about 21 ornaments on the outside edge.

Not gonna lie, the inner and outer rings are not much fun, but hang in there, the best part is coming!

5. Now you get to start filling in the top part! This time you’re tucking the tops into the gaps between the ornaments on the inner and outer edge. You have to kind of check to see where you need to put the glue before you glob it on. Again, add dots of glue between ornaments to secure them. I used about 40 ornaments on the top part.

If you have a few unique ornaments, you may want to decide now where to put them (but don’t glue them yet). My mom says odd numbers are better, but who knows if that’s actually a rule. Just don’t do 4 perfectly spaced, because your eye will see the square.

I like starting in one spot and working my way around the wreath, so you don’t end up with awkward gaps that are too big or too small for filling in. Try to vary up the sizes for visual interest. Don’t use the smallest ones quite yet, save those for the final step.

6. My favorite part! Now is time to add in the teeny ornaments and the filler! Use the smallest balls to fill in any gaps. Look at the wreath from the top down, from the side, and even from a distance to check and see where you need to fill things in.

No going to lie, this part is addictive.

At some point you’re going to have to call it good and walk away!

Because it looks AWESOME!

I’d love you see your wreath, tag me @thehowtomom or #thehowtomomwreaths on social media so I can tell you how amazing it looks!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Ornament Wreath Tips:

-Use a triangle of glue to secure each ornament to the inner and outer edges.
-Don’t kill yourself trying to create a pattern, or to achieve perfect randomness. It’s going to be fiiiiine, don’t overthink it!
-If you have a few “statement” ornaments, plan out where you’re going to put them. (I know, I’m basically contradicting myself, haha)
-Use filler to fill (duh, haha) in the gaps at the end

@thehowtomom on IG

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